So you're playing SBURB?
by Calmasis
Summary: Meteors, lands, kernelsprites; what's up with all that stuff, anyway? SBURB is what all the coolkids are playing nowadays. But quite frankly, it seems to me it is specifically designed to mock you with all of its complexity. Here is a guide I put together with the best intentions, to help any condemned soul who has found themselves trapped in the vile grip of SBURB. My condolences.


**It has come to my notice there is a tremendous amount of things we missed, or ignored, about SBURB. The game is a headache, I'm sure we can all agree on that. While I am pretty sure majority of us are sufficiently familiar with it, there are still things people can easily miss and are often forgotten about within the fandom. SBURB is a complex game. Nobody can deny that. It is breathtaking how complicated it can be. When you think you have something figured out in its entirety there will still be a lot more to it and damn, if this game and Andrew Hussie aren't exceedingly brilliant then I don't know what, or who, is.**

** That aside, the purpose of this is to inform everyone on those little things that tend to escape our minds and we so easily oversaw. In the case you're sitting there reading this for a roleplay, you need to have everything clear, and be able to make a post with no doubts in your mind. I can't stress this enough. You can't just go "Hey, let's shove this X amount of kids in an apocalyptic game and know nothing about it!", we have to know what we're getting ourselves into and have a pretty clear idea of what the hell we're going to do with this bunch of brats once they're in the game trying not to get themselves killed. First things first, let's see what's up with this game all the coolkids seem so hyped about nowadays.**

_***Homestuck belongs solely to Andrew Hussie****. I do not seek to gain anything by posting this on the internet****.**_

* * *

**SBURB**

SBURB the human name for a sandbox-style game that takes place superimposed over the real world, rather than in a virtual space. The server player is able to manipulate the client's environment in real time in a manner reminiscent of The Sims. The client of the game has no need to interact with the computer and can freely roam around completing objectives (except if the client wants to operate GristTorrent). Actions available to the server player include being able to build rooms, add on to existing rooms, deploy game objects such as the Totem Lathe, and manipulate objects in the client's environment.

**However, the server cannot operate outside of a certain radius of the client.** Furthermore, the server's actions are limited by the client's supply of Build Grist. Further applications will likely be revealed over time. Each new client-server connection generates a unique session of the game that is apparently independent of all other sessions, unless a daisy-chain of connections is formed with existing players. The exact number of connections varies depending on the length of the chain in question, though the minimum number of players is two.

**So what are all these freakish symbols that are all over the place?**

Logos are quite the recurrent thing when it comes to SBURB. The two most notable ones we all know and love are generally the house (color and number of sections depending on session) , and the Spirograph. They appear on gates, disks, loading screens, temples, Ectobiology labs, terminals, everywhere you could imagine. Why they appear so much, well, that is one of the more trivial things.

**SBURB Discs**

One of the main plots consists entirely of getting these little devils. In the canon story the trolls' copies were created by Sollux Captor while under Aradia's influence, so they didn't really have to worry about them. But for the humans, who were in lack of a bipolar computer genius with alien technology, it is clear as crystal to all of us that the Beta kids had their fair share of adventures getting their hands on both of their disks. To three out of four of them they were extremely hard to acquire, the only exception being Rose, who possessed them from the beginning but had the unfortunate passive aggressive encounters with her dear old Mom Lalonde to make up for it. My point being, there's no way one can start off easy, be it for domestic adversities or the game.

To my fellow roleplaying folk; ya'll have to get creative. Pose a challenge for them. Make them lose the disks, destroy them, pull a Jane Crocker and make their mailbox explode on their face, have them get pirated copies from dubious sources, or anything that might come to your mind. A petty Strife with their persistent guardian won't do. You'll need to be the omniscient, omnipotent bane of their existence and make it difficult.

In the canon storyline the SBURB discs have been of great importance to the story ever since John started playing. In the B1 session, there were eight discs in total, four server discs and four client discs, one of each for each of the four kids, except Jade who uses Dave's discs, while Dave uses the discs belonging to his Bro. Dave eventually alchemized himself another copy of his server disc, using the Intellibeam Laserstation to extract the code, in order to become another server to Jade while John was busy. Almost all of the Sburb discs have gone through some kind of journey.

As said before, it took John five acts to get his copy of the server disc. John's client and server copies arrive on the day of release, three days after the Beta was launched. John's Dad gets the client copy from the mail, and leaves the server copy in his car, deciding it would be best not to damage it to get the envelope. John has to Strife with his Dad in order to install the client version. The server version, however, has gone on a lengthy journey, with the car being dropped down into the Land of Wind and Shade, being picked up by the Authority Regulator, getting tracked down by the Parcel Mistress, and getting put into a Parcel Pyxis. After being dropped off in LOWAS, however, the disk was ejected from the Pyxis, and John finally has the server disc. Personally, if I were John, I'd have gone mad and broken someone's face in a fit.

That single decision he took of not breaking the car's window in order to get the disk eventually led to the server copy's absurd, great and absolutely pointless journal through LOWAS. **This further proves a character can lose a disk not only through game/domestic related mishaps, but through their own idiocy. Surely that example will be able to give you a few ideas. I encourage creativity.**

**Why play SBURB?**

Quite frankly, before reading more on the subject I didn't fully understand the purpose of SBURB. Guessing from what I knew SBURB seemed to have not only one, but multiple purposes. It has no explicit description or instructions regarding its true objective. The players aren't told what to do, no sir. No manual, no written guide of any kind. They have to ask, to investigate. Explore. Curiosity has to be one of their strongest drives. They have to analyze their surroundings and find somewhere to start on in order to gather more information. I know I probably make it seem more like a requirement but trust me, this is entirely up to the player.

At the time they begin playing the game Sburb is being played by many people, each one of them unknowingly the target of their own meteor, each one of them being oblivious to previous players' experience, each one of them being annihilated individually yet collectively, every one of them victim of destruction on a massive yet undetermined scale, leveling entire cities and towns. If the player is successful in retrieving and damaging in some way his or her unique Cruxite Artifact (such as John's Cruxite Apple) before the meteor hits, the impacted area is excised from the physical plane - leaving only a desert wasteland in its place. This is the process that sends the player to their planet within the Incipisphere - where the real game begins.

Electrical power still seems to be available in John's house when it is excised and sent to the Medium, though the source of this power is unclear. Apparently fumbling about in a dark house while trying to complete game objectives would not be within the intended spirit of the game. Through exposition from their Kernelsprites, the players learn the objective of the game. The player must build using Build Grist to pass through the gates to get to Skaia, where, ultimately, a battle of good and evil is being waged, and the players have opened up what was a supposed eternal stalemate now into an all out war that evil always wins.

When the villains win, the Black King calls down meteors to destroy Skaia, which protects itself by teleporting them to the host planet, destroying it in the process. The players must stop the meteors before the defense portals fail and Skaia is destroyed. The game comes in multiple phases: climbing through The Seven Gates, defeating the Denizens, The Ultimate Alchemy, and the Reckoning (up to and including the final confrontation with the Black King and Queen), to name a few.

The trolls' session offers a brief glimpse of the end of a Sburb session (or, in their case, a Sgrub session): A massive upright SGRUB/SBURB logo with a mysterious door, which leads to the reward for their efforts.

However, they are interrupted by The Rift before claiming it. This reward was stated to be entry to a new universe which they had created - the Kids' universe. Thus it is revealed that the ultimate purpose of Sburb is as a method of procreation for entire universes - a single planet is sacrificed in order to create an entirely new universe (or several are sacrificed for several universes), which may themselves propagate one or more universes, and so on. Therefore, the objective of Sburb is the successful creation of a new universe, which is implied to be the nature of the Ultimate Alchemy.

**Who'd even create something like that?**

**Skaianet** is the company that released SBURB in the pre-scratch universe, and the owner of the laboratory near Rose's house. So far, we have not seen any employees of the company, though all of the kids' guardians seemed to have unusual connections with it. Who knows, maybe your character's guardian could have a Skaianet laboratory in their basement, which they eventually find and explore. If they do, then congratulations, because they're secretly filthy rich.

According to Andrew Hussie, technology or inscriptions that allowed the creation of Sburb were found by Grandpa in the Frog Temple. This makes it likely that he had contact with Skaianet, or that in fact he founded the company himself to release the game. This would be in line with Grandma being the founder of the company in the post-scratch universe.

In the post-scratch universe, Sburb was not released by Skaianet, but by Crockercorp. However, Skaianet also existed, created by the post-scratch version of Jade. It produced several products competitive to Crockercorp technology in order to reduce the influence of the Batterwitch.

The name "Skaianet" is likely a parody of "Skynet" from the Terminator series. The name also relates to Skaia very transparently.

**The Basics**

_***I HIGHLY recommend reading the first act, even after you read this section. I know many people don't like it because nothing very 'exciting' happens but please, it is important everyone knows this information to avoid confusion in the future.**_

Before we continue we first have to learn the controls, so to speak, and familiarize ourselves with the simpler aspects of SBURB. I know for a fact this is part is tricky, very tricky indeed. This seems to be the one people have more trouble than usual remembering, for their appearances were most significant during the earlier acts. Particularly Act 1. The ones a lot make the mistake to skim through.

Oh, I'm sure now you know what I'm talking about.

Despite its destructive nature, SBURB is still a game. There are specific things you need to do in order to advance, to finish 'levels' and go to the harder parts of the game, to approach the last, most dangerous enemy. In SBURB's case, advancing means building. Building is gathering materials and making something out of them, and as we all know, nothing is ever free in games.

**Grist**

Grist is the name of a range of resources used in SBURB. In order for a server player to manipulate their client's surroundings, they must expend the most basic type of grist, build grist. Other types of grist are used as the ingredients to create objects with the Alchemiter. Grist can be acquired through victory in Strife, or by recycling objects into the grist components that are used to create them. More powerful enemies seem to drop exponentially higher amounts of grist, as imps drop hardly any, relatively speaking, while Denizens drop enough for the Ultimate Alchemy.

**Build Grist**

Build grist, which takes the form of a blue hexagonal prism, is the most common type of grist. It is not, I repeat, NOT the only one. Build grist is primarily earned by the client player during Strife, and is then utilised by the server player to modify the client's domicile: altering room dimensions, creating new floors, stairs, or ladders, and moving/placing/copying/pasting objects. Each additional server/client pairing enters the session with an increased quota of starting grist. John's server has 20 (2101) build grist to start with, while Rose's server has 200 (2102), Dave's server has 2,000 (2103) and Jade's server has 20,000 (2104).

This implies that in the trolls' session, Karkat may potentially have started with a whopping two trillion (21012) build grist as Sollux's server, unless larger player chains gain grist in smaller increments precisely to avoid this kind of ridiculous quantity.

It should be noted that although they resemble Rockin' Blue Raspberry Gushers, attempting to ingest any amount of build grist – and presumably any other grist types, for that matter – is considered an "idiotic and frivolous action", as they are gaming abstractions that do not exist on the physical plane during the Sburb session. Upon touching the client player during a session, the grist is stored in the grist cache.

Server players are unable to interact directly with grist and must rely on their clients to collect it for them. Build grist comes in several sizes, with each size being worth a different amount of grist. The exact quantity of build grist dropped by an opponent seems to be randomly determined, with only the general order of magnitude determined by the opponent's nature. Build grist is also a component of most alchemized items, though the amount needed varies.

For example, John's Pogo Hammer requires 10 units of build grist, as well as 16 units of shale. While the type of building material needed for a particular item seems to be determined by certain aesthetic qualities of the desired object, build grist often acts as a generic requirement for construction – if you're ever in need of perfectly ordinary 'stuff', build grist will probably be involved in the creation of it.

**_*It should be noted the sole reason why the Punch Designix is only available to deploy after the player's entry is because aforementioned requires Shale. Shale is only obtainable through imps and other monster underlings of its kind, which are obviously not present pre entry._**

**Other Types**

The grist cache implies that there are thirty-six different types of grist, but thirty-eight types have been clearly shown (although only twenty-one of these have been named), making it unknown how many types of grist there are. Displays have also shown what appear to be 12 additional types of grist. Each player has different associated types of grist. John's grists are related to oil, Rose's are related to calcite, Dave's are related to amber, and Jade's are related to radioactive elements.

Since one can recycle items into grist, much like how Rose and Jane did, it is possible to simply recycle any unneeded items into grist for use later or to possibly find new types of grist. This should be approached with caution however, as Weird Plot Shit or Weird Puzzle Shit may make this dangerous.

**GristTorrent**

Grist may be transferred from one user to another using the GristTorrent client, which can be installed through an additional disk provided by the game. When a player collects more grist of a type than their cache limit will allow, GristTorrent places it in the Grist Gutter. From there, it is gradually redistributed to other players who have room for it.

**So what do I use this for?**

Naturally, you'll have to spend your grist on something!

**The Phernalia Registry**

The Phernalia Registry is the compilation of items that can be used in SBURB. One who is running the server can place items in the client's surroundings using this Phernalia Registry. Each item has a unique feature and ability that can be used to help with the game. Or destroy the world. One of those two. The Phernalia Registry contains an Alchemiter, GistTorrent CD, Cloning Pad, Cruxtruder, Ectobiology Apparatus, Intellibeam Lasertation, Jumper Block Extension, Punch Card Shunt, Punch Designix, Punched Card, and a Totem Lathe.

Sounds like a load of stuff, yeah, but at the very start you'll only have to worry about four, and later on, five. The rest are merely extensions and their use is optional. A couple of exceptions would be the Ectobiology Apparatus (with an Ectobiology terminal by extension) and the Cloning Pad, for they are items whose use is very specific. Only one player, the one with a Space aspect and Stoker of the Forge, is to get these to breed the frogs.

**Cruxtruder**

The Cruxtruder is a device from the Phernalia Registry that can be deployed by the Sburb server player immediately at the start of gameplay. Activating the device allows the client player to obtain Cruxite Dowels and release the Kernelsprite. Opening the Cruxtruder also begins a rather ominous countdown sequence that warns of some form of impending doom. Typically the countdown is timed to the arrival of a meteor redirected by the Reckoning. But opening the Cruxtruder does not cause it. The Cruxtruder can be attached to the Alchemiter as an add-on, rendering the original separate device obsolete. The Cruxtruder is very large and should be placed carefully as not to obstruct any important doorways, as it costs a lot of Build Grist to move.

**Cruxite Dowels**

A long cylinder extracted from the Cruxtruder It can be used in conjunction with the Alchemiter to create special objects and can be carved by the Totem Lathe to change what kind of item it creates. A carved Cruxite Dowel was used to create a Cruxite Artifact for all players. Its extraction released the Kernelsprite and began the countdown towards the Meteor impact. Many of these Dowels can be extracted, but only the first Dowel releases the Kernelsprite and initiates the countdown. The color of the cruxite seen so far corresponds to a player's associated color.

**Cruxite Artifact**

In order to enter The Medium in a game of Sburb, a client player must use his or her associated Cruxite Artifact, which is alchemized from the Pre-Punched Card that is provided at the beginning of the game. Like their name suggests, they appear to be made of pure cruxite. Each artifact is unique to the player in question, and most of them have been "used" by breaking them in some fashion. A much larger version of this item is brought to earth by the meteor headed for the player's location. In the future, the Exiles will find and use these to contact their players. Artifacts are not alchemized like other items: Instead of the item simply appearing, the artifact is usually dropped by a larger item, which then disappears. According to Andrew, each Cruxite item is symbolic of departure.

**Totem Lathe**

The Totem Lathe is a piece of machinery that a player can deploy. The Totem Lathe is used to carve Cruxite Dowels with patterns, which are dictated by Punched Cards and Pre-Punched Cards. The Lathe, in combination with the Punch Designix and Alchemiter, allows players to alchemize objects, such as the Cruxite Artifacts used to enter The Medium, various weapons and outfits, and other miscellaneous objects.

The totem carved is a direct representation of the Captchalogue code punched into the card. The totem is shaped by a laser that is programmed to carve to different depths in a Dowel depending on the values in the code used. For example a totem carved with "11188111" would cause the laser to carve the beginning of the totem slightly thinner than normal, with a dip in the middle. Proof of this theory is shown when a totem carved with the code "11111111" was completely regular, just slightly narrower than an uncarved totem. Presumably the totem carved from the code "!" would be a very slender cylinder. This would explain the fact that an empty captchalogue card's code is "00000000", as it would cause the laser to not edit the totem.

**Alchemiter**

The Alchemiter is one of three devices that can be created by the SBURB client immediately after installation. Found within the Phernalia Registry, Cruxite Dowels can be placed on the pedestal where they will be scanned and an object will be created by the Alchemiter. An unaltered Cruxite Dowel appears to create Perfectly Generic Objects while one that is carved by the Totem Lathe will create an item specific to the pattern in which it was carved.

While the Alchemiter at first glance appears to only allow duplication of objects, John discovers that new items can be created by combining the hole-patterns of two or more items in various ways. This creates an item that usually shares qualities of all of the original items. The process appears to be rather context-sensitive, as the resultant item can possess qualities that the original items were only implied to have. For example, Rose's Needlewands have magic powers since they were made from a statue of a wizard, even though the statue itself possessed no appreciable magic power. John has noted that the alphanumeric code found on Captchalogue cards is too limited to cover every possible item in the world, so the alchemy process may be less free-form than it appears.

Certain key items (such as the Sburb Beta) lack readable codes and cannot be alchemized without the laserstation. Pumpkins (and ghost imprints thereof) also have no code, and never will have one. However, an item isn't needed to make one. All you need is a cruxite dowel, you can carve it with the Totem Lathe to get a specific item, you choose how it's carved by inserting a punched captchalogue card. You punch captchalogue cards using the Punch Designix. You can punch cards with codes taken from the back of captchalogued items or randomly, or via two methods of combining items.

There are two ways to combine cards for the Alchemiter: "ll" combine and "&&" combine. The difference between these is merely the way you punch the card, ll (the "OR" combine) means you punch a hole in the result card for every hole there is in either card, done methodically. The second && (the "AND" combine) means you merely line the cards up next to each other, so that anywhere that there's a hole in both there's a hole in the result card. Appropriately for AND combining, an && alchemy result will often demonstrate the functionality of both components – e.g. the Pogo Hammer can pogo and hammer – while an ll alchemy result will typically have the functionality of only one of the components, but the form of the other – e.g. the Hammerhead Pogo Ride, which is just a pogo that happens to be hammer-shaped.

_***There are extensions to the Alchemiter, but they're just accessories and not particularly essential, so they will not be included.**_

**Punch Designix**

Found within the Phernalia Registry, it appears to be an advanced piano-like device. It costs four units of shale to deploy. The Punch Designix requires that the code on the back of a captchalogue card is entered. Once this is done, the card must be inserted into a slot so that it can be punched. A punched card can no longer function as a Captchalogue card but can be used in conjunction with the Totem Lathe to carve a Cruxite Dowel.

So I suppose that should be enough to cover the basics. It's not that hard, really, once you understand everything becomes a lot clearer. Now we'll move on onto the more complex parts of the game. These don't usually come into play until later on, when the player has settled in the Medium and begun worrying about other things that aren't saving themselves from the apocalypse.

They include:

**Kernelsprites**

Sprites, known in their initial form as Kernelsprites, are entities released when a Sburb player first opens his or her Cruxtruder. Kernelsprites are nigh-on-useless, unintelligible balls of light. In order to be useful, they must be prototyped, which involves dropping an object into the Kernelsprite (losing that object forever). They are said to be "drawn," in a sense, to the dead or soon-to-be-deceased - while there is no explicit rule saying that a Kernelsprite must be prototyped with something dead or doomed, across all sessions ever played, almost all of them are.

These objects' characteristics determine the sprite's personality and abilities. Sprites can be prototyped at least twice (so far no one has attempted to prototype them a third time), and at least one pre-entry prototyping is necessary to win the game, because Skaia would otherwise be unable to grow to its final form. A properly prototyped sprite is given access to a wealth of knowledge about Sburb, but there are apparently limits on what a player's sprite can tell them and when, and sprites are supposed to be coy in nature.

Davesprite, however, decides this is all nonsense and agrees to tell the kids anything they need to know. Sprites cannot accompany their players through the first gate. Players unlock the power to have the sprites accompany them through the gates at a later point in the game. One can unlock this ability in the form of special pendants given to them by their sprites.

**Prototyping**

Prototyping is when a Sprite is "merged" with an item, taking on certain similarities, turning it into a sprite. Upon entering The Medium, a prototyped sprite will divide into a kernel and a sprite, The kernel will also divide in two, carrying the data of the item(s) that prototyped it to Prospit and Derse. So, not only is the sprite modified with the data, but also the Monsters players face and the Royals of the light and dark kingdoms. For example, John Egbert prototypes his kernelsprite with a Harlequin doll, resulting in imps and ogres with colorful harlequin outfits. The imps also seem content with just causing a ruckus instead of defeating John. It should be noted that the traits the sprites inherit from post-entry prototyping have no effect on the medium.

Therefore, none of the imps have traits akin to John's grandmother. These traits appear instantaneously; they are not limited to underlings created after the Kernel splits. Kernelsprites require one pre-entry prototyping in order for the battlefield to successfully evolve to its final form, which is necessary in order to allow the Genesis Frog to grow. A session with no pre-entry prototyping is called a Void session. A lack of orbs on a session's Prospit and Derse (as well as the Queens' rings and Kings' scepters) are indicative of a Void session.

**The Incipisphere**

**Derse and Prospit**

**Derse**, also known as the Kingdom of Darkness is one of the two kingdoms in the Incipisphere. Derse wages an unending war against the Light Kingdom, Prospit, striving for the destruction of Skaia. Derse has always been destined to defeat Prospit, forcing the players to kill the Black King on their own to prevent Skaia from being destroyed.

"Derse" is a portmanteau of "dearth" and "terse", which contrasts with the root of Prospit's name. The demonym of Derse is "Dersite".

Derse is a shadow-cloaked violet city planet that orbits Skaia from far away, outside of The Veil, and is connected to its single moon by a large purple chain. Derse is ruled by the Black Queen, and the planet is inhabited by black-carapaced citizens who resemble black chess pieces. A series of spires exist on Derse, one for each player in a session of Sburb. The tops of these spires contain the data from pre-entry Kernelsprite prototypes. As the players prototype their sprites, the spires activate and the prototypings are applied to the monarchy of Derse. Note, though, that only prototypings that occur prior to a player's entry into The Medium are stored in the spires of Derse.

**Prospit**, also known as the Kingdom of Light, is one of the two kingdoms in the Incipisphere. Prospit wages an unending battle against the Dark Kingdom, Derse, protecting Skaia from the Dersite army, which seeks to activate The Reckoning and destroy it. This battle is one that Prospit is always destined to lose.

"Prospit" is derived from the word "prosperity," which would contrast with the root of Derse's name. The demonym of Prospit is "Prospitian."

Prospit is a massive golden city planet that orbits close to Skaia and is connected to a single moon by a large golden chain. Prospit is ruled by the White Queen, and the planet is inhabited by white-carapaced citizens who resemble white chess pieces. A series of spires exist on Prospit, one for each player in a session of Sburb. The tops of these spires contain the data from pre-entry Kernelsprite prototypes. As the players prototype their sprites, the spires activate and the prototypings are applied to the monarchy of Prospit. Only prototypings that occur prior to a player's entry into The Medium are stored in the spires of Prospit.

**Dream Selves**

A dream self is another feature of the wonderful world of the Incipisphere: an alter ego that's supposed to awaken whenever the real person falls asleep. Dream selves are not independent entities, but simply representations of the dreamers. Dream selves are projections of what the players want themselves to be.

While most dream selves exhibit only minor differences (such as their shoes (and also their rooms) being their favorite color), Tavros's dreamself is able to walk, and Vriska's dreamself is not missing her arm or Vision Eightfold. Terezi's dreamself remains blind, as she prefers being blind to being sighted. Dream selves can fly, and Dream Jade could conjure up extra arms at a whim, so they have at least some ability to pull hitherto unforeseen powers out of nowhere, the way people do in dreams.

Dream selves are usually asleep when the real self is awake, and awakening a dream self causes the real self to fall asleep immediately. Since a dream self serves as a person's avatar during their sleep, their mind seems similarly hazy to that of a sleeping person. Consequently, they act similar to "normal" sleeping people: free-spirited, absent-minded, immune to second thoughts, forgetful, and somewhat irrational. This is why the first thing Dream Rose and Dream Dave do when meeting face to face is have a dance party and why Jade's tender ministrations left Dave with a brainless feathery asshole as his Kernelsprite.

Prospitian dream selves see visions of the present, past, and future when the Prospitian moon passes into the clouds of Skaia. Dersite dream selves hear the whispers of The Noble Circle of Horrorterrors, during Derse's lunar eclipse, when the moon is furthest from Skaia, eclipsed by Derse's shadow, and thus closest to the Furthest Ring.

**Carapacians**

Carapacians are a species residing in The Medium, consisting of the white Prospitians and black Dersites. True to their name, carapacians have shiny, rigid carapaces and, like humans, red blood. All carapacians besides the royalty of the kingdoms have barcodes on their wrists, and were presumably cloned in The Veil . The default carapacian resembles a chess pawn, and indeed they serve a similar function on the Battlefield.

Unlike Underlings and the monsters of The Battlefield, carapacians are not directly affected by player prototypings unless bearing a Queen's Ringor King's Scepter, and in fact are the only ones who can use them. Carapacians have perfect spatial memory, stemming from their genetic material and roles. Carapacians come in many shapes and sizes, some having flat teeth and others fangs, some having claws and others variable numbers of fingers, but it's most likely that they're differing species within the same genus.

**Exiles**

Exiles are Prospitians and Dersites that have been exiled from their Incipisphere and live on post-apocalyptic planets after the SBURB players have left it and it has been wiped clean by The Reckoning. Their purpose is to reintroduce civilization to the planet and assist the Sburb players that previously inhabited the planet. They are not an obvious aspect of the game. These nomads travel the vast desert that used to be Earth in the year 2422. They travel alone and with little more than they can carry. Along their travels they show habits and actions parallel to one another.

**SBURB Station**

A Sburb Station is the name for the bases that are accessed by the exiles in the year 2422. The bases are related to SBURB—in particular the Cruxite Artifacts that each child creates using his or her pre-punched card and most likely come to earth with the meteors. Each base contains a Sburb/Sgrub logo shaped monitor and a keyboard with a familiar looking "==" button that can be used to contact players that have entered the Medium. They seem to run on nuclear power and carry Sburb related gadgets, such appearifiers and sendificators, probably to further help with the Exile-player interaction.

**- Traits and Likenesses:**

_* Each base is been found by an Exile._

_* Each base is related to one of the Homestuck Kids' previous location as well as the Cruxite Artifact that child has produced._

- The Skyship Base originates from where Rose Lalonde's house stood and mimics her Cruxite Bottle by acting as a cork, shooting out of an underground bottle.

- The Helipod Base originates from where John Egbert's house stood and mimics his Cruxite Apple by falling from a tree that grew from the location, dropping the round base to the ground.

- The Eggy-Looking Base originates from where Dave Strider's house stood, and it mimics his Cruxite Egg.

- The Bec Head Base is perched upon the Frog Temple on Jade Harley's island, and takes the form of her Cruxite Piñata.

_* Each base can fly._

- The Skyship Base can fly using four rockets on its bottom.

- The Helipod Base can fly with a helicopter-like set of blades.

-The Eggy-Looking Base can apparently teleport, though it has not been confirmed.

_* Each base is locked and allows communication with only 1 player. This mimics the sever client relations between the Kids._

- The Skyship Base, resembling Rose's entry item, can only contact John.

- The Helipod Base, resembling John's entry item, can only contact Jade.

- The Eggy-Looking Base, resembling Dave's entry item, can only contact Rose.

- The Bec Head Base, resembling Jade's entry item, can only contact Dave.

**Computer Terminals**

A recurring device found in various laboratories and bases throughout Homestuck. They feature screens arranged in a square with a house-shaped frame and a Mac-style keyboard (with the addition of a large key showing the == arrow for commands. The amount of screens and '=' depends on the number of players.)

The terminals are seemingly used by the Exiles to monitor Sburb sessions and submit commands to the player, and they may serve more purposes, such as controlling the Skyship Base. The terminals are color-coded; the one in the Helipod Base, which sprouted from John's former location, is blue, while the one in the Skyship Base, which sprouted from Rose's former location, is purple.

**The Medium**

The Medium is a mysterious realm which forms part of The Incipisphere. Nannasprite describes The Medium as "a ring of pure void, dividing light and darkness". The Medium seems to be the main body of the Incipisphere, with a kingdom of darkness outside of it relative to the four main planets and one of light within it. The main goal of Sburb is to reach the Medium and build up to The Seven Gates, eventually reaching the realm of Skaia at its center. Starting point of this journey is each player's individual planet. Each planet has something to do with the player's title and, more importantly, their personality. Imps, Ogres, and many other opponents must be fought by the players as they build upward.

**Lands**

A number of planets within the Incipisphere orbiting around Skaia. Each player has a unique land, which they can explore and interact with in order to complete their quest(s).

*To keep in mind:

_"If you are a SPACE player: Yes, your main quest is always going to be to create the genesis frog. But the way you light the forge and collect the frogs is governed by your MBTI type! You might have to build a machine to incite the volcano, or protect the frogs from being roasted by the lava!" _(Taken from a land guide at Tumblr; it's fairly well known, you shouldn't have much trouble finding it if you look in the right places.

**Associated Item**

Each player has an associated item, which relates to the general type of underlings they will encounter most often after entering The Medium and, by result, what types of Grist they will acquire through Strife with these minions.

_John's associated item is Oil._

_Rose's is Chalk._

_Dave's is Amber._

_Jade's is Uranium._

Though the associated item of each of the other three kids was revealed fairly early in Homestuck, Jade's item remained unconfirmed until well into Act 5 Act 2, after she successfully entered the Medium. However, her item was predicted based on the group of four items found by the Wayward Vagabond on the floor of the Skyship Base. The items appear to be related to some characteristic of each of the kids or their lands. John's Land is covered in oceans of oil, and Jade's Uranium is closely tied to Becquerel, her Guardian and Sprite.

**Consorts**

Inhabitants of each player's planet in The Medium are known as Consorts. It seems consorts are normally quite stupid. According to Rose, some of them find their way back to their player's house in order to perform tasks the server player would otherwise need the client player to do. However, the Salamanders were able to duplicate John's bedsheets secret robes and many other objects using alchemy. Depictions of all of the consorts' species can be seen on the inner walls of the Frog Temple. Consorts have created an enigmatic religion based on the features of their planet, such as the Parcel Pyxis of LOWAS, which may differ between the consort species.

However, all consorts worship the Genesis Frog, and have erected monuments of frogs all across the areas that they inhabit, to the delight of the people of Prospit, who worship the Genesis Frog in a manner similar to their own, and hated by the Dersites, especially monarchs and upholders of the law. Unsurprisingly, frog carvings presumably made by followers of the consorts' religion appear scattered around the frog temple, with a large concentration near the entrance.

**Frog Temples**

The Frog Temples are large, mysterious temples that come from the Incipisphere, each with a giant frog statue on top. They are delivered to their host planets during the Reckoning and are the first meteors to arrive at the planet delivering the temple and the planets' First Guardian. The temples contain various equipment which many vary between sessions such as the ectobiology equipment for the creation of the first guardian, a Lotus Time Capsule and transportalizers to Prospit and Derse.

Its connection to Sburb causes vast amounts of Weird Plot Shit. The giant frog represents the Genesis Frog, the patron god of frogs. This is due to him representing creation as his role as the universe the players strive to create. For the same reason frogs are considered loathsome, abhorrent creatures by the Derse royalty. Imagery and idolatry depicting frogs is highly illegal in jurisdictions under the control of Derse.

**Denizens**

Denizens are immensely powerful NPCs found in Sburb sessions. They are, at first, asleep, but as the player progresses through the Seven Gates, they awaken. Each is said to guard an immense Grist hoard, to be released upon their defeat and used for the Ultimate Alchemy, though Davesprite says that he "had no idea how the denizens worked at all", implying that they serve another purpose. This is probably related to The Choice each denizen will offer their opponent and the fact that they are capable of conversing with the players. The denizens control the underlings and are responsible for many of the problems found on the players' planets.

**Skaia**

Skaia is the world that the players of Sburb must build toward in order to win the game. Nanna describes Skaia as a "dormant crucible of unlimited creative potential". It resides at the core of the Incipisphere, sort of like its "sun". An orbiting light planet, Prospit, is charged with its defense, while the distant dark planet of Derse covets its destruction. The Armies of Light and Darkness duel there in a perfect stalemate until a player prototypes a Kernelsprite. Then, their real battle begins, one that Prospit is destined to lose. The planet at the center of Skaia is known as The Battlefield, which hosts the war between the forces of Prospit and Derse.

The Battlefield is portrayed as a chessboard. Each time a Sburb player initially prototypes a Kernelsprite, the size of the board seems to grow exponentially: Where The Battlefield is initially a three by three chessboard (a situation which leaves the only two combatants, the White King and Black King, in an eternal stalemate), the board grows into a full game of chess after a first player's prototyping, albeit with a sixteen by sixteen square board and some pieces taking up multiple squares. When a second player prototypes his or her Kernelsprite, the board expands to a massive cube with forty-eight squares to an edge and landmarks like trees and lakes. The Battlefield becomes a fully spherical planet upon a third protoyping. After the fourth prototyping, The Battlefield appears to have gained a large outer shell made of checkered tendrils.

The Battlefield of a 12x-prototyped Skaia is shown near the end of Homestuck: Act 5 Act 1, but the full planet is never shown. Before the battlefield is prototyped to its full size, Skaia's core consists almost entirely of a sky dense with vast, twisting clouds, much more than has been seen in the inside after prototyping.

The final form of Skaia is required to create and grow the new universe, fulfilling the objective of the game. This is why a pre-entry prototyping is necessary for each player. According to Rose, the prototypings enable Skaia to transform and heal itself, thus letting it "handle" the aforementioned new universe. Usually when the Black Kingdom inevitably wins the battle, the Black King uses the White King's scepter to initiate The Reckoning, sending all the Meteors in The Veil towards Skaia to destroy it, but in the kids' session Jack Noir takes the scepter and does it himself. Skaia defends itself by opening portals to stop the meteors, sending them instead to the host planet and sacrificing the planet to protect itself. By this means, Skaia forces players to enter the game in the first place. Skaia eventually fails to protect itself when the largest meteors in the Veil are launched at it, at which point it is destroyed, due to either running out of defense portals or an inability to teleport objects of such size.

The players' goal is then usually to stop the Reckoning before this happens by defeating the Black King, thereby winning the game. Many times during the game, Skaia is referred to as a sort of sentient being. It is also stated that it is a "passive being" at that, only "watching" and "seeing" instead of "acting".

**The Genesis Frog**

The Genesis Frog is literally an entire universe. He is ostensibly represented by the giant frog on the Frog Temples and is considered to be the patron god of all frogs. The inhabitants of the Incipisphere have differing opinions about him. The Prospitians and Consorts worship and adore him, referring to him as "Our Glorious Speaker, or the "Speaker of the Vast Croak".

Dersites, on the other hand, have an inborn hatred of him, using a collection of insulting and derogatory titles, which include "The Great Detestation", "King Pondsquatter", "Frogger", and the "Speaker of the Vast Joke". The Dersites' negative opinions are related to their opposition against the creation of a new universe, and to the Genesis Frog being the reward for defeating the Black King. The Genesis Frog is created anew by every successful session of Sburb.

The player responsible for breeding the frogs found on his or her planet must create and raise the Genesis Frog. The player must breed frogs in order to produce a frog with a "perfect" genetic code. In all sessions we have observed this player has been the Hero of Space, assisted by a Knight. Every instance of the Genesis Frog is unique and will be involved in the creation of the new universe. It's likely that the Vast Croak plays a large role in this. To create the Genesis Frog, the frog-breeder of the session would need to appearify the paradox slime of the frogs found on the their planet and then hunt them down themselves, forcing the Appearifier to produce the paradox slime in the first place. They would then combine the paradox slime of the frogs and produce their paradox clones.

Apparently, the songs (or croaks) show the perfection (or lack thereof) of the frogs' genetic codes. A Genesis Frog contains every single instance of the universe that is within him, including doomed timelinesand its Scratched iteration. All those different universes are destroyed when the Genesis Frog dies, though some of them may last longer than others before their destruction.

**The Veil**

The Veil is a large ring of asteroids in the Incipisphere that forms the outer boundary of The Medium, dividing it from the Furthest Ring the dark space in which Derse orbits. Apparently the meteors contain buildings like labs, factories, and facilities for genetic engineering. The Veil is considered a neutral ground between the kingdoms of Prospit and Derse. In every session, once The Reckoning is initiated, the meteors in the Veil are sent towards Skaia to destroy it, causing the apocalypse of the players' home planet when Skaia defends itself.

The players have to stop the Reckoning before Skaia's defense fails and it is destroyed. John accidentally transportalized himself to a strange laboratory in the Veil where several others had assembled through various means. The lab itself contains several Ectobiology tubes where various Chess pieces are being created and/or held in stasis

**The Furthest Ring**

_"CC: It is t)(e infinite space w)(ic)( divides all sessions, completely unnavigable and unfat)(omable, untouc)(ed by t)(e time or space of any universe in existence."_

The Furthest Ring is an infinite space that exists outside of all universes. It physically borders the outside of every Incipisphere, containing the orbit of Derse and separated from The Medium by The Veil. the ring is home to a number of eldritch monstrosities, including Fluthlu, Nrub'yiglith, and Oglogoth. The most powerful of these monsters are the Noble Circle of Horrorterrors. Dersite Dreamers are able to see and hear the Horrorterrors by staring into the space beyond Derse.

Temporal and spatial factors are far less than constant in the Furthest Ring, due to it existing beyond any universe and therefore never having the spacetime principles solidified; the deeper into the Ring one would get from their session, the less stable time is, and as one spends more and more time in its dark reaches, space becomes less reliable as well. All Sburb players with only one remaining self will dream of the Furthest Ring, regardless of whether their dream self that died or if their real self died and was replaced by their dream self. There they may dream in bubbles glubbed by the Horrorterrors, or catch a glimpse of the Horrorterrors themselves.

The Furthest Ring also serves as a kind of afterlife in general, at least for players of Sburb. Aradia explains to a dead Dave that the living can access this afterlife under certain circumstances to share dream bubbles. Two general means to do this are known: Dreaming with only one self remaining or physically enter the Furthest Ring and physically enter a Dream Bubble. A third special means exists through the use of splinter selves which may manifest themselves out of the subconscious of those dreaming in the ring, however they are not the original person and remain as independent beings.

**The Green Sun**

The Green Sun is a giant sun in the middle of the Furthest Ring, nearly twice as massive as Earth's universe (and in fact, as massive as Earth and Alternia's universes put together) There is only one in existence, and it is the source of the powers of all first guardians. The pre-Scratch kids and post-Scratch trolls intended to destroy the Green Sun so that Jack Noir would lose his power. According to Doc Scratch, the destruction of the Green Sun would result in the destruction of the First Guardians.

Jade says that the Green Sun "...presides over our universe", and that destroying it would have had disastrous consequences. She also mentions that it presides over multiple universes and sessions at once, asking John to "think of it like a giant solar system, but instead of planets revolving around the sun, there are many universes". This implies that Rose and Dave's mission, even though they were fooled into creating the Green Sun instead of destroying it, was still important, and can still have positive results for the future.

**First Guardians**

A first guardian is an entity that exists to protect its planet and "facilitate the planet's ultimate purpose". First guardians are typically almost as old as the planets they are born on, and they are born through Weird Plot Shit and Weird Time Shit. Every planet destined for intelligent life has such a guardian, and though their forms vary widely, they all share a common and potent genetic code. This code grants them near omnipotence, and they can be "merged with a host of great intelligence", granting them near omniscience as well. Doc Scratch is Alternia's first guardian, Becquerel is pre-scratch Earth's first guardian, and the God Cat is post-scratch Earth's first guardian.

Pre-scratch Alternia had a different first guardian as well, but they have yet to make an appearance in the story. If current trends are indicative, first guardians have a unique "green energy" effect, in which they appear to flicker and flash with a green electricity, appearing to shift in and out of existence and generally radiate energy. Another object with similar properties is the Green Sun, the source of the first guardians' powers.

**God Tiers**

The God Tiers are a series of the highest levels of power available to players of Sburb. Achieving God Tier status provides the beneficiary with godlike power in their respective aspect, channeled through their respective class. Reaching the God Tiers allows players to level further up even after reaching the top of their Echeladder, which is the limit under normal circumstances. After attaining God Tier status, the player then begins to level up further, though the increase in power to a person already called a god is likely redundant.

As shown by the leveling up of John and Jade, normal stats still increase in the God Tiers. However, instead of Boondollars (because that shit is for babies), the player in question receives Achievement Badges for their Kiddie Camper Handysash, the sash itself being modeled on the players' kingdom alignment, Prospit or Derse.

To reach the God Tiers, a player's dead or dying body must be present on his/her Quest Bed (or Quest Cocoon), a process apparently referred to as taking a "legendary nap" by Consorts. The specific cause of death does not appear to be important and it may also be sufficient to be placed on a Quest Bed within a certain time span after death occurs. The key aspect of the power of God Tier players relates to their mythological aspect: the level of power they exert over is significantly enhanced to the point of near-complete control.

* John, the Heir of Breath, has shown that he can manipulate the breeze at levels both fine enough to fly a car around and strong enough to create a massive tornado powerful enough to drill cleanly through The Battlefield.

* Vriska, the Thief of Light, is capable of commanding fortune, an ability said by Terezi Pyrope to only be accessible and controllable to those who have full mastery over the power of light.

* Shortly after her ascension, Aradia, the Maid of Time, immediately demonstrated her level of power over time by freezing the rampaging Jack Noir (who possessed a godlike power) completely of her own accord without the aid of any time-controlling items.

And so on.

There are several abilities that all God Tier players gain, regardless of their associated aspect and title, such as the ability to fly. Players who achieve God Tier are also biologically immortal (they can't die unless they are killed), and after completing a session, would live in the newly created universe as literal gods. They can be permanently killed, but the death must either be "heroic" or "just".

A heroic death requires that they fall while opposing a corrupt adversary or through a noble self-sacrifice for the greater good. A just death requires that they deserved to be killed, either through becoming corrupted and being slain by a hero, or else through causing something terrible.

Doc Scratch kept a grandfather clock, with a pendulum ticking between the "heroic" and "just" halves of the clock, while displaying the symbol of the player in question. It is unclear if the clock simply displays the outcome or if it has deeper ties to the resurrection of God Tier players. Vriska Serket is so far the only God Tier player that has visibly died a permanent death when she was stabbed by Terezi to prevent her from accidentally tipping off Jack Noir to the trolls' location and killing them; according to the clock, Vriska's death was just.

God Tier players appear to be able to dreamshare at will. Vriska was able to enter and interfere with the nightmares of the Wayward Vagabond, and Aradia demonstrated mastery of dream bubbles in her conferences with Tavros, Kanaya, and Jade.

_***There are two ways to ascend; dying on the quest bed of your land, or the one on your respective moon. Achieving God Tier means your dream self will take over, and be transported to another quest bed on Skaia, if you happen to die on your land. To see a demonstration of this I recommend watching [S] JOHN, RISE UP, or in the case of ascending in Derse/Prospit, [S] Wake.**_

**Quest Beds(/Cocoons)**

The Quest Bed allows a Sburb player who has reached the top of their Echeladder to continue leveling up by advancing through the God Tiers. Each player has two Quest Beds, one on their Planet and one on the Moon of Derse or Prospit(depending on which planet they dream on). Trolls have Quest Cocoons rather than beds, though the idea behind it remains the same.

_**A few important reminders/words of encouragement, mostly for those seeking roleplay advice:**_

- ONLY Space players can wake on their respective moon prior to the game. Other players without a Space aspect cannot.

- It's not all imps and ogres, there are other monsters too.

- When a character first starts alchemizing make sure they make things that are at a reasonable price for their experience. They've just started the game, it would be surprising if they were making amazing, unbeatable weapons in their first tries. As a player ascends in the Echeladder they win access to more powerful weapons. They'll have to gain levels to get progressively better.

- Achieving God Tier doesn't just mean dying on your Quest Bed. It's not that simple, of course not. To be able to reach Godhood one MUST be at the very top of their Echeladder. It's called 'achieving God Tier' for a reason. Earning it is not an option. It usually takes very long for a player to hit the God Tiers.

- Quest Beds are hard to find. And when I say hard, I mean well damn hard. A character can't just oh so conveniently stumble upon this strange flat rock within ten minutes of exploring their land. Come on, guys, their land is a planet. While a land's size doesn't seem much in comparison to Earth it's still a gosh darned planet.

- Consorts can talk. They would have interesting things to say, I'm sure.

- You rush through the gates carelessly! The character needs to learn about their planet, by exploring and gathering new (and certainly important) information about the game and what they need to need to gain levels, more experience that will help them later on. Each and every single one of the players has an important role in their planet. One they must fulfill. They have a quest that is different for all of them, a quest that is linked to their God Tier title and the land's name. For example, let's take John. Heir of Breath. Land of Wind and Shade. His quest was to put out the fire with his powers (Wind), which he did before he even ascended to God Tier, and dispose of the clouds (Shade) to set free the fireflies imprisoned by Typheus. So make sure you choose your character's God Tier title and Land name very, very carefully, because it will influence their entire experience in the game.

So, I suppose that wil be all, for now. Before I end this; I must stress this guide is not meant to dictate every little detail for you. This was more like... An introduction to the game, I'd say? Yes. I purposely left out a few of the smaller things; those you will have to figure out on your own. I encourage going through the comic to pick up on things you could have possibly missed on your first read. I've done that, it does wonders, I promise.

* * *

**Commencer jeu! Good luck, indeed!**


End file.
